After her own nominee withdraws from the Nandigram bypoll, Mamata Banerjee announces support for the Congress candidate, citing opposition unity and Rahul Gandhi’s backing.
By Political Bureau
Kolkata
In a dramatic turn of events ahead of the Nandigram bypoll, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee announced on Friday that her faction would support the Congress candidate after its own nominee withdrew from the contest.
The Trinamool faction had announced Sanchita Pradhan Dey as its candidate on Sunday. However, Dey reportedly met Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday night and, by Friday, it emerged that she had decided to withdraw from the race.
With nominations for the October 6 bypoll already closed, there is no scope for the faction to name another candidate.
Addressing a press conference, Mamata Banerjee said her faction had decided to support the Congress in Nandigram.
“We had decided earlier; we have given our support to the Congress in Nandigram.”
She also said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had spoken to her the previous day.
“Rahul Gandhi called me yesterday. We are together. We will not surrender to the BJP.”
Banerjee clarified that the Nandigram bypoll itself was not discussed during the conversation, but said she already had the issue of supporting the Congress candidate in mind.
The unexpected announcement comes amid a period of political uncertainty in West Bengal, with the Nandigram contest once again emerging as a significant point of confrontation between rival political factions.
WHY NANDIGRAM MATTERS
A seat with a history of high-stakes political contests
The Nandigram bypoll was necessitated after Suvendu Adhikari vacated one of the two Assembly seats he had won, choosing to retain Bhabanipur, where he defeated Mamata Banerjee earlier this year.
Nandigram has particular political significance for Banerjee. She contested the constituency in the 2021 Assembly election and lost to Adhikari, a former aide who subsequently became one of her principal political opponents.
The latest contest had generated speculation that Banerjee herself might enter the race and seek a direct political confrontation with the TMC factionalism surrounding the seat.
Instead, her faction selected Sanchita Pradhan Dey, a teacher who had lost her job following the cancellation of thousands of teaching appointments linked to the alleged recruitment scam.
Dey’s selection was viewed as an unexpected choice for a constituency that has remained one of Bengal’s most closely watched political battlegrounds.
ELECTION COMMISSION FREEZES TMC NAME AND SYMBOL
Both factions barred from using the party identity in the bypolls
Another major development came shortly before the Nandigram candidate’s withdrawal.
The Election Commission of India announced that the Trinamool Congress name and election symbol had been frozen, preventing both the Mamata Banerjee faction and the Ritabrata Banerjee group from using the party’s established identity in the upcoming bypolls.
The decision has added another layer to the ongoing political dispute surrounding control of the party’s name and symbol.
The development comes as competing factions seek to establish their political identity and organisational control ahead of the bypolls.
CONGRESS STANDS WITH MAMATA, SAYS RAHUL GANDHI
Opposition leaders criticise the Election Commission decision
Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has criticised the Election Commission’s decision concerning the Trinamool Congress identity.
Gandhi alleged that the move was part of a broader attempt by the BJP to weaken opposition parties.
The Congress’s central leadership also publicly expressed support for Mamata Banerjee, with party leaders saying that the Congress would stand with her amid the dispute.
The developments mark an unusual political alignment in Bengal, where the Congress has historically had a complicated relationship with the Trinamool Congress and has often contested elections alongside the Left.
ADHIR RANJAN TAKES A DIG AT TMC
Congress leader questions the withdrawal of Mamata’s candidate
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury responded to the development by taking a sharp dig at Mamata Banerjee’s faction.
Chowdhury said that Mamata Banerjee’s Nandigram candidate had withdrawn from the race and suggested that the candidate announced for Rejinagar could face a similar situation.
He appealed to voters who wanted to oppose the BJP to support the Congress directly.
Referring to the history of the Trinamool Congress, which Mamata Banerjee founded after leaving the Congress, Chowdhury invoked the imagery of a large banyan tree and its fallen leaves while urging voters to distinguish between the Congress and rival factions using similar political identities.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
- Sunday: Mamata Banerjee’s faction announces Sanchita Pradhan Dey as its Nandigram candidate.
- Thursday: Dey is reportedly seen meeting Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
- Friday: Dey’s withdrawal from the contest becomes public.
- Nominations: The deadline for filing nominations has already passed, leaving no opportunity for a replacement candidate.
- Congress: Mamata Banerjee’s faction announces support for the Congress nominee in Nandigram.
- Election Commission: The Trinamool Congress name and symbol are frozen amid the factional dispute.
- October 6: The Nandigram bypoll is scheduled to take place.
“WE ARE TOGETHER. WE WILL NOT SURRENDER TO THE BJP.”
— Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal Chief Minister
FROM A PARTY BREAKAWAY TO AN UNEXPECTED POLITICAL TURN
What began as a closely watched Nandigram contest has taken an unexpected turn after Mamata Banerjee’s faction withdrew its own candidate and extended support to the Congress nominee.
The decision comes against the backdrop of an internal dispute over the Trinamool Congress name and symbol, the Election Commission’s intervention, and continuing political rivalry between Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari.
With the bypoll scheduled for October 6, attention now shifts to how the newly announced Congress–Mamata alignment develops on the ground and how voters respond to the changing political equations in Nandigram.
“WHERE THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS STANDS TALL, DO NOT LOOK AT ANY OTHER ‘CONGRESS’ FACTION; INSTEAD, EXTEND YOUR DIRECT SUPPORT TO THE CONGRESS.”
— Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
Congress Leader